Greenery provides the foundation for any tropical set design. The hot and humid environment of tropical climates encourages profuse plant, tree and flower growth. Acknowledge this environmental fact on your tropical stage with lush greenery, both real and fake. Depending on your budget, you can purchase potted greenery such as large ferns and small palm trees. Place these in the corners of the stage. Then cover cover areas of the stage visible to the audience with other potted plants and tropical flowers. Wrap fake vines across the front of the stage and around the sides and top. For added color, attach fake tropical flowers to the vines. Avoid cut flowers, which won't stay fresh through multiple performances.
Create a sense that the tropical world of the stage extends further than the audience can see by using tropical-themed signs at the edge of the stage and entrance to the theater. For example, if you were staging the musical South Pacific, you could create a tropical-inspired hospital sign by wrapping a post in faux bamboo rods and tying them with twine. Hot glue a straw placemat to a piece of plywood and nail that to the top of the post. Paint "hospital" with an arrow on the straw mat to finish the sign. Place this in the corner of the stage and place ferns around the bottom of the post. You can apply the same approach for a tropical-themed pageant by painting the phrase "to the beach" on the sign. Place surfboards near the sign and surround the post bottom with sand.
Tropical-themed props add to the illusion of an island paradise or rainforest on stage. While the space available naturally dictates the type of prop you can use, the set crew can build a tiki hut, surf board shop, pig roast, luau or tall lifeguard chair for beach scenes. Tiki torches add both a warm glow and a tropical feel to a stage.
Tropical flowers such as white kukui blossoms, bird of paradise, yellow hibiscus, red ohia and the yello ilima add vibrant splashes of color across a stage. If your budget allows, purchase real potted flowers to intersperse within your greenery displays. You can also find fake tropical flowers for garlands. For example, cut and tie fake leis, the traditional Hawaiian flower necklace, into one long string for a flower garland. Wrap this across the top of the stage, at the entrance to the theater or any place you want a tropically festive garland.